Badlands: Nuclear Warfare
by AsaMoritz
Summary: As resources on Planet Earth deplete at an unprecedented rate, countries are on the verge of nuclear warfare to protect themselves from being invaded. The Elites of the world are racing to escape to space, in hopes of finding a more habitable planet. Can Clarke save the innocent civilians being left behind, with the help of her friends? [CLEXA]


**A/N:** _I'm new to the fandom, and I wanted to try my hand at writing a Clexa fic. Not sure how I feel about this, so feel free to let me know whether I should continue or not. Just as a warning for those not familiar with me, my writing style tends to be very dark and grotesque. On another note, I don't want to bore anyone with my A/Ns, so... let the fic begin! (:_

 **[CLARKE'S POV]**

The smoke-filled sky, thick and grey, suffocated every living organism as it consumed Earth, regurgitating the still corpses of cities and the frigid skeletons of humanity. Forests once abundant with life now oozed with radiation, along with vast terrains now caked in debris. The History Channel spoke of times like this, but they never taught you how to handle it. The Church spoke of the end, but they never taught you how strong you'd have to be in order to still have faith, even after all your prayers remained unanswered.

The filthy animals, elected into office by a brainwashed populace, destroyed mankind. Gluttony and the hunger for power grew out of control, like cancer cells within the veins of nations, polluting the streets under the guise of freedom. If someone told me a decade ago Earth would become the poster child of a planet too advanced for it's own good, I'd question their sanity. However, within that time frame, we've successfully depleted majority of our natural resources, and polluted our oceans to the point where we needed a complex filtration system just to be able to drink a glass of water. Of course, this meant the price of simple day-to-day necessities skyrocketed.

Let's not even talk about the ozone layer–or better yet, the lack of one. Our carelessness eradicated 45% of it. All the machineries and factories we used to make our lives simpler only complicated the future even more. Countries soon became hostile towards one another, causing the threat of war to grow like tumors, spreading hatred and evil among nations, until it ultimately erupted into Nuclear Warfare. They all wanted one thing–survival. If that meant forcing their armies across borders, committing mass genocide and pillaging innocent civilians for their resources, they'd do it. Nothing or no one was off-limits, except for the elites, of course; the one-percenters of the world. We had many space stations working hastily on an escape plan to the cosmos, conducting numerous experimental tests on unsuspecting citizens, just so that we can survive and leave them behind to face the aftermath.

Though I'm among the privileged, I tried my best to fight for what was right. These are my journal entries, documenting every event leading up to our transition to space. I don't have much time. This is all that's left and you can do whatever you want with it. Keep it to yourself, or let it serve as a warning.

* * *

 **2 Years Ago** –

 _21st March 2024_

I walked outside, greeted by the dreary horizon and lack-lustre skyline. You'd think after so long, I'd be used to not seeing the sunshine as bright as it once did, but it's presence was surely felt. The streets visibly steamed with humidity, making the air difficult to breathe in. Forest fires and deforestation surely bit us in the ass, to the point where the oxygen levels of Earth significantly depleted. Chancellor Kane made sure everyone had an extra tank of H2O built within the central air system of each household and public building.

"Don't forget your appointment with Dr. Rorie after school, honey," Abby yelled from the balcony of our two-story home.

"How can I forget?" I responded, mostly to myself. Sometimes I felt as if my mom only cared about the inevitable journey, looming over our heads. We lived within a small society, in charge of preserving handpicked people to continue our legacy, wherever the future decided to take us. Each country had their own stations working towards the same goal. However, ours just happened to be ahead of the others, at least for now.

I chose to walk, since school was only a few blocks away from where I lived, and God knows the environment would benefit from one less person commuting via mobile transportation. Unlike normal colleges, each student at Hawking University was forced to learn their parent's trade, rather than choose their own path in life. For most people, they found it easy to simply follow the rules, and live their lives in a restrictive pattern, stripping away their individuality. But for me? Well, let's just say I don't like being told what to do, and that absolutely terrified my mother. I'm sure she prays everyday I wouldn't disobey our leaders and jeopardise the mission in any shape or form; not like my father had, anyway.

Our community was known as Dorchester, surrounded by steel walls tall enough for only the sun and moon to peer over. At first, they told everyone not to venture beyond them, if we wanted to stay safe from the chaotic civilisation lurking on the fringes. They filled our minds with such negative images about these people, to the point no one acknowledged their existence, or further questioned it. But, as I grew older, I realised that maybe, just maybe, they weren't trying to keep them from getting in, but us from finding out what the leaders were doing outside, since they were the only ones allowed pass the gate.

"Hey there, stranger," said a friendly voice. I turned around to see Raven quickly walking to catch up to me. She was wearing a red leather jacket, a black tank top and distressed skinny jeans; her signature look.

"Hey, sorry I didn't see you when I passed your house," I replied, hugging her, "I figured you left a little earlier than usual."

The brunette laughed, as if that were the most ridiculous thing she's heard all day, "no. I woke up a bit late. I stayed up all night working on one of my famous class projects. Plus, I'd think by now you'd realise I'd never leave you behind," she playfully winked, after pulling out of the hug.

I rolled my eyes, "Please, remember that one t–"

"No! Don't even finish that sentence," Raven hastily interrupted, triggering an involuntary laugh from me. We've been the best of friends since we were in diapers. Our parents weren't colleagues, but we always lived in the same neighbourhood. They were important in the development of the warp drive technology being utilised for the starship taking us to our new lives in a few years. She was the only person who made me laugh after my father's death, and for that, I'll always cherish our friendship.

The walk to school felt a lot shorter, when my mind wasn't so consumed with thoughts. The glass building came into view before we knew it. We ventured through the automatic sliding doors and took the escalator to the third floor. Raven and I only had one class together, which was physics. Surprisingly, it was both our favourite class. Professor Nikola definitely made every minute of it worthwhile, though he tended to drift off topic to rant every now and then. Maybe that's what made his lectures so interesting.

As I began taking my books out of the locker, my attention strayed to a familiar voice. I looked in the direction it as coming from, and surely, there she was … standing in all her glory. Her thigh-high socks, pleated skirt and white blouse hugged her body in all the right areas. She wasn't even looking at my direction, but I couldn't help but be entranced by her enthralling green eyes. They looked as if they had seen an entire lifetime, though I knew that was entirely illogical. There was just something about Lexa that I couldn't put my finger on, and it intrigued every atom in my body.

"Enjoying the view?" Raven whispered in a jest manner.

Before I could look away, Lexa made eye contact with me. _Shit!,_ I inwardly cursed myself. I tried to play it off, finally giving my brunette friend my full attention. I knew she'd tease me all day about this.

"You should just walk up to her and introduce yourself, instead of constantly undressing her with your eyes, you know," Raven wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at me, while we began walking to class, "maybe she'll actually let you use your hands instead one day."

I stole a quick glance in Lexa's direction again, noticing she was still looking at me, "the war will end peacefully before that ever happens."

"Well, if you don't hit on her, I will," Raven teased, but we both knew she was way too boy crazy to actually follow through with it.

"Go ahead. I'm not going to rush faith. If I'm supposed to meet her, I'm sure life will bring us together, somehow," I shrugged, setting my bag down and sitting in my seat. If only I actually believed the words coming out of my mouth, that would be delightful. Truth is, I was just too intimidated by her to put myself out there. She was like … the newest strain of kryptonite, perfectly engineered to bring me to my knees, and I prayed to God, if there is such a thing, to have mercy on my heart.

"That's been your excuse all year, Clarke. Stop pretending like it's not killing you inside to talk to her. This is obviously much more than just a simple crush to you," Raven carefully replied, a hint of concern dripping from each word, "besides, you're hot. You're hotter than the sun. In fact, you're so hot, the planets are starting to revolve around you! She'd have to be blind not to be even remotely attracted to you."

I smiled, defeated, "when you put it that way, maybe I have a chance. Thanks, Butthead."

"Correction, I'm Beavis and you're butthead," she reminded me, returning the smile before Prof. Nikola began class.

"Today we'll be discussing the law of attraction," he announced.

 _Great_ , I thought to myself, _something I have first hand experience on._

* * *

 **P.S. |** _This was supposed to be much longer, but I wanted to have something out before the new year. I'll continue writing for the second chapter. It's going to get pretty interesting. Feel free to review, and also ask me questions on Twitter AsaMoritz. (:_


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